I have just read an old book called Green Rust written in 1920 by Edgar Wallace. It is a detective story revolving around a doctor who developed a germ which on application, instantly killed wheat fields. His idea was to set up a network of agents to destroy most of the world wheat crops, apart from a selected area which would be put to store. He would then sell from it with a vast profit – speculation on a grand scale! The plan needed him to transmit ‘go ahead’ to the agents to distribute and apply the germ. The plot was foiled as all communication channels were monitored and the messages intercepted, even his flock of pigeons failed. In the end the doctor was apprehended and of course the detective got the girl!

Now to the reality, what has changed in 100 years? Speculative activities are thriving. They are less ambitious but more frequent and on a wider scale (commodity-wise). Speculators are concentrating on futures like crude oil, metals, softs and FX. Also ‘hard to access’ commodities like pepper or dried fruits can be their target from time to time. Communication channels have no bars and well-constructed rumours can spiral up (or down) the price. If you are in doubt about potential speculative activity please feel free to contact us, we may be able to help -support@mintec.ltd.uk

Lastly I would like to thank Jan Paul van der Velde, Senior Vice President of Flint Group for contributing a guest article to this issue. I also hope you like the new online format too!

Vlad Peksa